In mosque chandeliers with Quranic verses, the calligraphy encircling the rings is the most striking and most carefully crafted part of the chandelier. These inscriptions are laser-cut into metal plates and lit from within by the light placed behind them. Below, we explain how a verse plate is prepared, from drawing to installation.
1. Selecting the verse and dividing it into plates
The process begins with selecting the verse together with the mosque's management or architect. The length of the verse determines how many plates it will span around the chandelier's ring. When dividing it, care is taken not to break the meaning; connected expressions and sentence endings are kept on the same plate.
2. Number of plates according to the ring circumference
The number of plates is calculated from the circumference of the ring: circumference = diameter × 3.14. For example, a ring with a diameter of 1 metre has a circumference of about 314 cm and is completed with two plates of 157 cm. When the circumference does not divide evenly, the number of plates is rounded up and all plates are shortened equally, so that the joints are symmetrical. We explain how the diameter and tier layout are determined in our article on mosque chandelier sizing.
3. Drawing the calligraphy
The verse is drawn in a Naskh-style script so that it fits within the central band of the plate. A margin is left along the top and bottom edges of the plate, and the vowel marks (harakat) also stay within this band. Letter extensions (kashida) are used so that the line fills the plate evenly; word spacing is balanced on each plate without distorting the letterforms. The text is always laid out to read from right to left.
4. Preparing for laser cutting
The letters are cut out of the plate, and light passes through these openings. So that the inner pieces of closed letters such as mim, ha, waw, fa and qaf do not fall out, they are connected to the plate with thin bridges on two opposite sides of the letter. This keeps the inner pieces in place and preserves the legibility of the text. The drawing is prepared as a cut-ready vector file, and the plates are nested on the metal sheets to minimise waste.
5. Acrylic, LED and installation
Opal acrylic is placed behind the cut plates; the LED strip behind the acrylic lights the text with an even, glare-free light. The plates are fixed to the ring with profiles, while the tabs on the lower edge of each plate carry the oil-lamp style holders or bulb sockets. Alongside the inscribed plates, plain cover plates of the same size are used to complete the ring.
Motif and verse-and-motif options
Plates cut with traditional motifs such as the Seljuk star or the Sinan ring motif instead of a verse are prepared using the same method. In verse-and-motif models, where a verse and a motif are used together, the calligraphy is placed within the motif band. You can explore these models in our Boxed Verse and Ottoman Verse categories.
For verse suggestions, plate layout and 3D drawings for your mosque, get in touch with us; let's plan your chandelier together according to the size of your dome.
